An Academic Plan of Sorts . . .

What have you learned from the previous assignments in this course?

Many things! Notwithstanding many years working in the media, I was a theory-novice, without any real grounding in the foundational literature. This was, in fact, the first time in my multi-tiered education that I had to review so much professional literature of any sort (yes, even law school). And I had never created a blog or any web-based presence for myself, and it was sort of liberating to get over the self-consciousness of putting myself ‘out there’ to be scrutinized and judged. It helped that I thought it would remain under international radar, but now I just wish someone would notice it!

Has your work on the literature review helped you to create a future reading or viewing list?

Definitely! I also discovered, ex post facto, that much of the material I read corresponds to the required reading of a closely related class Shannon and Peter previously taught (Media Education Lab). This would be a must-class for me, though I didn’t see it listed in the course guide, raising the question whether there are other possible offerings I overlooked.

Have any exercises revealed strengths or areas of weakness that you’ll need to develop? What resources are available that will assist you in that development?

I’m sort of stuck in an unholy limbo, between, on the one hand, an aversion to theory/ structure/ empiricism, a desire to act more instinctively, without burdensome, stifling social constraint, to be more adventurous, dangerous . . . And on the OTHER hand, a muscle-memory reliance on safe, methodical, custom and practice, which often feels like boring mediocrity. Is this the classic existential struggle between art and intellect?!?

Apropos nothing, I was reflecting on the course, thought about Richard Sennett and “The Craftsman,” and was reminded of a wonderful tune . . .

What are your existing talents? How will you draw on those talents, or use your time here to cultivate new ones?

Does the phrase “jack of all trades, master of none” sound familiar? I’ve done many things but don’t really feel I’ve developed any true expertise. I went to law school, worked in business affairs briefly, supervised a number of film productions, produced a few myself, became a school teacher -- all meaningful in their own way, and combine for an interesting and fairly unique perspective, but I’ve always been a generalist with a rather low threshold for boredom. I really want to zero in and focus on something singular for a while, craftsman-like, to become highly competent, perhaps even a ‘specialist.’ I fear I may be fighting nature a bit here, given my history and, ahem, mature age, and I just may have to accept my faux-Renaissance Man tendencies (or, perhaps, ADHD). On a serious note, my greatest hope is that the Masters program structure will provide the time and space I need to learn the nuts and bolts of documentary craft, as well as the theoretical framework and intellectual discipline to develop a secondary school curriculum based on something more substantial than my gut and ‘hunch.’

What are you here for?

Ontologically and cosmically speaking, good question. However, articulating a clear purpose and specific set of goals for the Masters program is not much easier. As mentioned earlier, my original intention was to gain a background in documentary film, and research and develop a secondary school curriculum and create accompanying promotional materials. I’m not sure that’s entirely the case now. I do have other goals and ideas, though they are somewhat hazy at present . . .

What do you hope to achieve by the time you’ve completed the MA program, and immediately after? What courses will you need to take in pursuit of those goals?

At an absolute minimum I will leave the program with a completed documentary in tow, for which I’ll need to load up on production project courses. Beyond that, I hope to have a fully fleshed-out proposal for some sort of school curriculum, though I am revisiting just what sort of shape and form it might take.

What will guide the selection of your courses? What pragmatic concerns, or financial or time limitations, will influence your course selection?

Apart from my now muddied raison d'être for being here, the New York vs. Los Angeles question now looms large for me. I’m beginning to feel a bit uneasy about the workability, and advisability, of taking production classes online. I know the program has been conceived to facilitate this, but I’m not sure that’s the greatest value for money, especially since the on-site school resources are not available for my use. Given that documentary production -- actual, physical production -- is one of my two main goals for attending, I really need to think about relocating to New York sooner than later. Then, of course, there’s the “financial limitation” of rapidly dwindling economic resources, meaning I will almost certainly need to work upon arrival in New York. I haven’t approached her yet, but I’d love to explore the possibility of working with Carol Wilder on the “Media First” project.

What’s your time line? Will you be taking a full, nine-credit course load every semester?

My stab at a time line . . .

Will you be working, or do you plan to do an internship, volunteer, or get involved in student activities that might require a significant time commitment? How might these activities inform your course selections?

Work?? Who has time to work?!?! Actually, I will be doing some sort of work during the program, but more than likely it will be related and flexible. As mentioned before, I would like to investigate New School’s “Media First” project run by Carol Wilder. I’m aware that the university has frozen hiring for the time being, though I’d like to persuade Carol to consider me as ‘on deck’ when funds loosen up again. She mentioned in her lecture that the program hadn’t made a lot of progress yet, and I think I have a unique skill set and range of experiences that could be an excellent fit. Who knew the Academic Plan would also serve as a job application?!?

Examine the course offerings in other graduate programs throughout the university. Do any of these programs offer courses – courses that aren’t offered in Media Studies – that speak to your interests?

I didn’t do an exhaustive search, but did find a few classes that sound interesting and worth investigating:

• Theorizing Visibility: Witnessing, Showing, and Granting Regard in the Visual Media (Political Science)
• Truth Productions: Historical and Cultural Frames (History)
• Media, Advocacy, and Social Marketing (Milano Management & Urban Policy)
  

I’m also interested in art history, film history, acting, and screenwriting. I’d like to explore the possibility of taking one or more graduate level classes in these areas, especially when I become resident in New York, though it doesn’t appear the Media Studies schedule will allow for too much cross-fertilization. These may have to be purely for my enrichment . . .

Do you plan to complete a thesis? If so, what topics or projects are you considering? What courses would allow you to better explore those topics and/ or develop the skills or methods you’ll need to employ in the execution of your thesis. How might you use your coursework to advance your work on your thesis? How will your thesis impact your degree completion timeline?
To thesis or not to thesis, that IS a question . . . I am of two minds on this. With respect to the school curriculum I’m developing, a thesis may serve as evidence that I do have some expertise on the subject and generally know what I’m talking about. On the other hand, a thesis would not be the best professional format for such a presentation, meaning I’d have to also create additional, perhaps extensive multimedia materials along the lines of a grant proposal and support for the inevitable public ‘dog-and-pony’ shows. Nevertheless, I’m sure it would be a very useful exercise for me to go through the thesis process. But there are also more practical issues. I don’t know if it’s feasible in terms of program structure limits (not to mention my time and money) to pursue both a thesis and a production project. I’ll need guidance on this as well.